Pharmatest
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In vitro assays, osteoblasts
Osteoblast differentiation and bone formation assays
Our proprietary in vitro osteoblast assays have been designed for pharmacodynamic testing of new anabolic agents against osteoporosis before entering animal studies. They involve culturing mesenchymal progenitor cells that are first allowed to differentiate into mature osteoblasts, enabling to study direct effects of drug candidates on osteoblast differentiation. The culture period can then be extended to allow the formed osteoblasts to form bone nodules, enabling to study effects of drug candidates on osteogenesis.
Fast and reliable efficacy testing
Intracellular alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is measured as an index of osteoblast differentiation at the end of the osteoblast differentiation period, and the amount of organic bone matrix deposited into the formed bone nodules is determined by using calcium assay comparable to Alizarin Red and Von Kossa staining. Further accuracy can be achieved by measuring secreted N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP) released into the culture medium as an index of organic bone matrix formation.
We use mouse mesenchymal progenitor cells (KS483) that are cultured on collagen coated wells in the presence of ascorbic acid and β-glycerophosphate. Our bone formation assays are excellent tools for fast and reliable efficacy testing of new anabolic therapies against osteoporosis. They are also the most sensitive commercially available estrogen responsive in vitro pharmacodynamic testing platform.
